• Creator economy startup Jellysmack has spun off part of its original content business into a new entity.
• Blue Foxes, led by former Jellysmack VPs, will operate some of its social brands.
• SoftBank-banked Jellysmack has gone through layoffs and strategy shifts in recent months.

SoftBank-backed Jellysmack, one of the giants of the creator economy startup landscape, has unloaded another of its units.

The startup has spun off its "Jellysmack Originals" business, the company confirmed to Business Insider.

The new entity is called Blue Foxes, and is led by former Jellysmack Originals VPs Maxime Horbez and Paula Layoun. The company has taken over some of Jellysmack's owned-and-operated social brands, including YouTube channels, Snapchat accounts, and Facebook pages like Beauty Studio, Oh My Goal, Gamology, and House of Bounce, among others.

"We can confirm the launch of Blue Foxes as a spin-off, and we're very happy that the original content team will continue leading this business," Jellysmack's cofounder Michael Philippe told BI.

Jellysmack will continue operating the Law&Crime Network, which it acquired in 2023, and Philippe said the company would focus on US-based IP and YouTube.

Jellysmack raised a nine-figure investment from SoftBank in 2021 and is one of the most prominent startups in the creator industry.

However, Jellysmack — which once had over 1,000 staffers — has undergone significant changes in the past two years, including multiple rounds of layoffs. In March 2024, the company sold off its catalog-licensing business as it prioritized more profitable core initiatives, BI previously reported.

Jellysmack's troubles are part of a larger story. While the broader creator economy startup ecosystem was red hot in terms of venture capital interest and valuations from 2020 to 2023, the space has simmered down. Some startups have consolidated, while others have shed staff or shut down operations.

New name, same game

Blue Foxes is keeping several Jellysmack staffers on the team, per posts from former Jellysmack employees on LinkedIn. Blue Foxes' top executives wrote in separate posts that they hosted a launch party for the new brand in Paris on February 27th.

While Blue Foxes is a separate entity from Jellysmack with a new name and logo, "everything else stays the same," Horbez wrote in a LinkedIn post. "I am very proud to take on the leadership of Blue Foxes alongside Paula. And I'm even more thrilled to embark on this adventure with an incredible team, composed of talent spread across the globe, many of whom have been with us for years."

Horbez did not provide additional comments on the business when reached for comment. Layoun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.